I am one of those voters that pollsters classify as the “mushy middle.” I have leanings that are liberal and conservative, progressive and reactionary…comfortably avoiding labels.
As a moderate, I have been unrepresented in Washington for many, many years. I watch Wall Street being exalted as Main Street diminishes. I see armies designed for America's defense being used pre-emptively in offense. On my conservative side, I like a competent, well-equipped military designed to protect my liberties. On my liberal side, I condemn the suspension of those liberties…the suspension of my liberties in the name of a security so elusive to define that it defies identification. Our Constitution is not so disposable that it should be fed to the cat when hard choices are forced upon us. Many of us moderates believe the Constitution is a pretty amazing document that blends the concepts of democracy and republic in thoughtful measure. Perfect? No, but perfectable…that's what amendments are for.
On my conservative side, I don't care much for taxes because I don't believe that my tax money is well spent. On my liberal side, I am a believer in entitlements, since I believe that after decades of paying my nation's way, it could reward me with a measure of personal support. I've spent my life being responsible, but look forward to the time that those responsibilities can be confidently delegated.
I'm conservative enough to believe in free enterprise, but realistic enough to realize that greed makes it impossible for enterprise to be fully laissez-faire. I am liberal enough to believe in government regulation of some industries in a position to do the most harm to the common man, but realistic enough to realize that government regulation is not a full solution. The full solution is to make humans less rabidly acquisitive, and I don't see that happening soon.
But more than anything else, I think I'm tired. I'm tired of politicians trying to motivate me by fear…fear of strangers, fear of want, and fear of the assured destruction that would come if our formidable weapons were misused. When a problem or issue raises its head, I'm tired of our leadership making us afraid of it or telling us who to blame. Please! Fix the problem, not the blame. And do it with a combination of head and heart. We common men are also weary of ceding leadership to bean counters who only know how much things cost rather than how much things are worth.
We have an election coming up, and like most moderates I always vote. Not voting is insane; for that brief, shining moment the spotlight is on you, not the politicians. Who will get the moderate vote? The candidate who seems to really see both sides of an issue…and we moderates are not one-issue voters.
By the way, we moderates realize we don't elect presidents to govern, we elect them to lead. And we're smart enough to know the difference.
The conservative in me sees elements of life as it is; the liberal in me sees life as it should be. We look for candidates who can live in the real world without surrendering dreams.
It is the time of the moderates; extremism is discredited. But that's true of all times, isn't it?
